Prioritizing
by Tinochka
Summary: Cal has to deal with external troubles and their internal consequences on his own, 'cause this time Gill is the one who needs help.  Gets more and more Callian with each chapter. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Prioritizing *as usual, I'm not convinced it's suitable *

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own 'Lie To Me' characters, not a single one

**Spoilers**: none but presumably set after 3.13

Summary: Cal tries to understand the importance of different things in his life under pretty bad circumstances.

Author's note: I would like to make it multi-chaptered, so, please, read and let me know whether it's worth writing further xD Oh, yeah, and a billion of thanks to **lietomebaby** and **Aena Firestar** for reading it for me. It would have been terrible without two of you reading it back and forth for me xD

* * *

><p>He hated staying there and answering their stupid questions.<p>

_Yes, she has insurance. How on the earth can she not have it, if the very last janitor in their company owes one? No, she is not allergic to any kind of medications – as far as he knows – but isn't it written in her history, really? No, she wasn't abused or something. She just fell off the ladder; the reason why she fell is none of your business. Yes, he is her emergency contact, and he doesn't want to call anyone else. No, he doesn't need medical attention, he's alright. Once again, he doesn't need to see any specialist, what he needs is to see her, the faster the better. Yes, he understands that she is still being examined, and doctors have to run some more tests, but that doesn't mean they should keep him here and ask some idiotic questions. Yes, sure, he can fill in the form – like if somebody cares about all this paper stuff right now. No, he doesn't want to wait in the cafeteria, he wants to se...OK, he is well aware of hospital rules, but maybe he can do something to change them slightly? Money is not the problem when it comes to her. Great, so he is dreaming about that room where he can stay alone until they finally let him see her. Oh, she will be brought there, how nice. And the doctor will come by to explain some details? Beyond imaginable. No, he's not interested in how much a day it costs, just let him sign where it's needed. What number is it, sorry? 127? The second turn on the left? Wonderful._

He hoped that as soon as he was done with all unnecessary talking he would be able to sit down, relax a bit, and even drink some coffee. But the truth was he couldn't bring himself to stay – or sit, as a matter of fact - still for more than several seconds. What's more, he was sick of a plain thought about drinking or eating something. To tell the truth, he didn't feel well thinking about everything but her. He came into the room 127, closed the door and without turning the lights on started pacing from one corner of the room to another, worry and guilt written all over his face so obviously that he felt lucky not to have anyone around to see it.

_How could he let her come in that building when his gut had clearly told him he had to stop her? Why didn't he insist on them waiting for help? Why hadn't he called the police as soon as he became suspicious? And, to begin with, what bloody reason did he find to take this case at all, for all saints? She told him something about them needing money, but that couldn't be a true reason. He wanted adventures, for sure, and he got them, as usual, but the price was too much this time. He's not ready to pay it! And why..._

The stream of questions, accusing him of what had happened, seemed to be endless, and, though he knew that self-reproach was pretty useless, he couldn't make himself stop.

There was no clock on the wall, and he must have forgotten his cell in his car, so he had no idea how long he had been measuring this room with his steps when a door finally squeezed quietly, and a man appeared in the doorway.

"Dr. Lightman?" his voice was quiet but confident, and in the middle Cal noticed something that sounded exactly like sadness... or was it compassion? He couldn't rely only on his ears; he couldn't let himself make a mistake now, so he crossed the ward and switched on the lights.

The instance his eyes adapted to brightness, he was able to see dark shadows on doctor's forehead. Yes, it was compassion, for sure, and maybe some kind of fatigue but the last one didn't bother him the slightest bit.

"Ya, it's me" unnecessary answer for unnecessary question helped him somehow to pull himself up, put on an accustomed mask and hear whatever this doctor was up to saying.

"My name is Dr. Strope, I'm Dr. Foster's physic..."

Lightman completely lost his temper before the end of the sentence.

"Where is she? How is she? Why can't I see her?" an avalanche of words and flurries came upon a man in scrubs who just stood there and silently waited for Cal to stop. His look was full of pity this time, and that was something Lightman could never let anyone feel towards him, so his monologue eventually came to an end, and he fixed his gaze on the doctor's face, waiting for him to speak.

"Answering your questions one after another, Dr. Foster is now having an MRI, she is still unconscious, and you simply can't enter the MRI-room. Now, please, will you let me prioritize all the information for you? The results of the neurological examination are quite positive, she is responding to the majority of stimuli, and it's a good sign, but it's really disturbing that she hasn't come to consciousness yet. And because of this it's troublesome to evaluate the severity of trauma. So all we can do now is wait for results of all tests, which hopefully are going to help us understand her condition better, and for her overcoming."

"When will I be able to see her?" this time Cal realised that he might sound like, dunna, some drug pusher who by all means had to see his runner to verify that his pieces were alright, but he didn't care about impression which he made right now.

"Not before you regain your temper and take a grip on yourself. When Dr. Foster comes round, last thing she needs to see and hear is unfiltered emotions. She will be here in no more than half an hour, so, please, do your best. I'll come by to keep you up-to-date later" with these words Dr. Strope stormed out of the room, leaving Lightman even more emotionally unstable than he had been before this talk.

_How did this fucking doctor dare to tell him such things? He is a specialist in emotions, he spent several decades studying them, and now some guy who more likely doesn't even have a psychological degree comes and tries to teach him how to compose himself? This is simply unbelievable! This smart ass should be punished. Why don't... _

_No, no, no. There were words which hurt much more than being taught something in his own field. 'Let me prioritize.' This phrase was the most offensive one. No one could ever point him out an order of importance, whatever it was all about. It was his right, as a man, to decide what was vital for him. And now – that precise moment – running after that bastard in order to beat him was clearly the wrong thing to do. Unimportant one._

_He should think about the nearest future and deal with immediate problems like... calling someone, 'cause nobody outside this hospital knew they were there; drinking coffee, 'cause despite his wishes he was becoming sleepy; and, as much as he hated to admit it, getting ready to see her, 'cause he needed to be really confident and calm when the time for whatever it will be comes._

Once all the thinking was done, Cal got on fast track with doing things. The very first one – a phone call – was as uneasy to do for him now as the last. He asked a nurse who stood near the reception whether he could use their phone, quickly received a positive answer but for a moment or two stood still with a receiver in his hand, unsure of what number to dial. He had one particular in mind, the one he was used to dialling in such situations but now there was no one on the other end, he was certain about it, so he had to come up with another. Thoroughly weighing all pros and cons of two other numbers he knew by heart, he finally chose one and made a call. On the other end exactly the person he was hoping for picked up.

"It's me. Shut up and listen. We're in County General, Foster has been hurt. Don't tell anyone except... ya, right, these two. Leave your cell where you're standing and come over here. Ya, three of you. Then find her! Did I miss the word 'now', Loker?" he hung up and, enraged, had nearly hit the wall with his fist. Regardless of how he felt, he knew for sure it was the last outburst of anger he would let himself have in the next God knows how many weeks, 'cause that bloody healer was right. Whatever the outcome of her tests is, Gillian will need an assurance in the future, not negative emotional surrounding.

Next step was coffee, and it definitely wasn't difficult to deal with while having a dollar in a pocket. Lightman had five. Walking with a cup in his hand down the corridor he already noticed the change. He had left the door closed, and now it was wide opened. Cal hastened his steps, reached the doorway and froze for a second, then composed himself, closed the door behind himself, put the cup on a table and slowly walked towards the bed.

There she was, so pale and fragile, covered up to her collarbones with a blanket with only hands laying on it. He knew that under it was hidden a pair of fixing bandages on her chest and her thighs so that her spine would be immobilized for a time being and probably some ice to cool the bruising, thus he was unbelievably gentle taking her hand – the one without an IV-line in it - in both of his. Holding it, he sat down carefully on a chair next to her bed, slightly leaned forward and brought her palm to his lips.

There was no doubt he had unconsciously prioritized everything by that particular moment.

* * *

><p>So, that was that. The first one. How do you feel about it? Likehate/see some positive/negative sides? And... I actually plan to slowly reveal what had happened to Gill in the next chapters but if you think I should write the whole chapter dedicated to what had happened before or how others reacted, feel free to tell me) Your opinion is a priority to me xD, so review :)


	2. Chapter 2

Well, thanks to everyone who reviewed and added story to alerts or to favorites, it actually means a lot knowing that someone reads it, and once again thanks to my proof-readers, who encourage me to write further.

Lie to me is still not mine :( R&R.

* * *

><p>Chapter 2<p>

It had already been more than two hours since he had taken her hand in his. She didn't move, neither did he. His eyes were locked on her face, as if he wasn't able to avert his gaze. Several times he opened his mouth, willing to say something, and closed it back, afraid to wake her up if she was sleeping and sure that she wouldn't be able to hear him if she was in coma.

Actually, he was like in trance, doing nothing and not thinking at all. Well, there were some thoughts in his head but they were mostly subconscious, merely a memory of what had happened, mostly some scenes from that day.

_She's sitting in her office, watching with ironic smile how he tries to skip her door being an hour and a half late for work...  
>- They arrive to that old warehouse...<br>She calmly tells him that it's time to sign all the bills, and he remembers once again what a bastard he can be sometimes...  
>- <em>_She insists on coming inside that building without waiting for a help group...  
>During the lunch break she laughs at his joke, leaning her head back without knowing or noticing how happy she makes him by doing that...<br>- __He feels the floor swinging under his feet and hears her scream...  
>Before stepping in their office she briefly presses her lips to his cheek, showing with that kiss her gratitude for those two hours they spent together...<br>- __She lays motionless on that wooden floor, covered with dust and some ladder debris...  
>- She doesn't respond to him calling her name...<br>- __He can't do anything. He reaches for his cell, with shaking hands dials 911. He can't, he can't help her..._

"Daddy?" Cal jumped up on his sit. He had completely forgotten about this reality. Might have fallen asleep. He slowly became aware of the fact that he was still holding Gill's hand near his lips, carefully laid it on the bed and finally turned around to see two their employees and his daughter standing in the doorframe pale as ashes.

"Here, luv" Lightman made several unsure steps towards the door, opening his arms quite in time to embrace Emily.

"How're you? How long have you been sitting here like this?" she whispered, cuddling up to him.

"Dunno, 'bout an hour." he simply ignored her first question and didn't really want to admit that he had lost sense of time as soon as he saw Foster, answering the second one.

"How is Foster?" Loker broke down.

"The same. Let's at least not discuss it near her, alright? Now, that's the first rule." clearly not that keen on leaving Gillian alone, he looked at her once again.

"Stay with her, Em, please, while I have a small conversation with these two. Just try not to mo..." under any other circumstances girl would probably get mad at him for treating her like a child but now the only thing she told was "Okay" even before he was able to finish the sentence.

Kinda satisfied, Lightman came out in the hall and waved Eli and Torres to follow him.

"And what do other rules say?" Ria behaved herself as usual, trying to be calm and sensible, but her boss could see all the fear and tears she hid in her dark brown eyes pretty good.

"Until we're sure about who we're dealing with, you, Torres, just stick to Em. Never – and I mean it – let her out of your sight. Go with her to bathroom, toilet, wherever she wants. Keep her near you, thanks God she's on holidays. Next, call Reynolds. Explain him everything, tell him..." Cal halted a bit. "Tell him Gill was injured. He wouldn't say 'no' when he hears about it. If he refuses, call Wallowski. But she doesn't need to know what happened, lie to her. Well, it's in your best interest to make Ben work with it. He can investigate, and he will. And you... you find those damn clients, 'cause it's either them or us who were taken aim at. Do everything you can. Pretend to be me and Foster, if you need money or access or whatever."

"And what about you, Lightman?" Loker was extremely lucky that Cal had promised himself to control his temper, 'cause in any other way his pretty face would have some pretty ugly scars on it.

"Forget I've ever existed. Lightman is gone." with these words he swung about and headed back into the room.

Emily was standing near the bed, barely touching woman's hand with her fingers, her eyebrows knitted and put together, showing extreme sadness.

"She's going to wake up, Em. She's going to be OK. There's no other way." he swallowed the endings of the words, he was so anxious to believe what he was saying himself and to make his daughter believe in it too.

"I know." she slightly squeezed Foster's hand and approached her father in order to hug him tightly. "You're staying with her, right?"

"Yap. And you're going with Torres. Behave yourself better than usually, don't ask too much questions and forget about telling your mum about any of this, okay?"

"Didn't even have in mind sharing this with her."

"Hey, you're not lying. Fantastic. Now go and be a good girl. Luv you" he planted a gentle kiss on the back of her head.

"Take care of her." one more second and this beautiful creature with small smile on her lips and visible grief in her eyes was gone.

"I will." whispered Lightman, setting himself on his place by Gill's bed. Once again he took her hand, but this time he felt like he needed to say something. Regardless of what were the chances she was listening.

"Hear, luv, she trusts in you, she knows that you'll be alright, that you're strong. So do I. You hear, luv, you have whom to return to, you might be well aware of it. Hear, I will be here for you when you wake up; I'll never leave and never let anything happen to you. You hear, you just need to open your eyes; we'll do everything else together. You hear, I..." he stopped for a second just to go through these words which he was keeping in himself for so long. "...I love you, Gillian. Do you hear, I'll make you happy, I promise, I'll do everything for you. Do you hear..."

He may have unintentionally raised his voice, but he suddenly felt that something had changed, and before he could either continue or concentrate on finding out what that was...

"I do..." it was barely a whisper, but her lips were now parted, and her eyes were slightly opened.

He automatically squeezed her hand. That was the moment of the highest priority, the one he was ready to pay any price for, and yet...

* * *

><p>Well, here is the second. Hope I didn't really screw up but even if I did, let me know, I'll be working on it xD<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

I'm a bad, bad writer. I don't update my stories often enough, and I'm sorry, it's just that I caught a really bad flu and wasn't feeling well... being ill sucks. However, I hope my story doesn't xD

Thanks again to lietomebaby for working on this story with me and to everyone who read and reviewed, it made me happy))

* * *

><p>Chapter 3<p>

...she was in pain. He could see it written all over her face, he could practically feel it pulsing in her hand which he was still squeezing.

"Nurse, Nuuurse!" Cal turned his head away from the bed, so that his scream wouldn't make her jump up, and mentally cursed all those people in scrubs who seemed to move too slowly.

And then there was one more sound. Merely a hiss, but Lightman heard it pretty distinctively. He bent over her, compassion obvious both in his eyes and on his forehead.

"It's all right, darling, everything is going to be OK, it won't hurt so much" he caressed her hair, trying to reassure her, but he knew it wasn't what she really needed now. The only effective thing was to deaden...

"She is in pain! Do something" demanded Cal, watching as their small room got pretty crowded by the hospital staff.

"Maybe you should wait in the hall" quietly stated Dr. Strope, who was one of the first to enter the room and who now was going round the bed.

"I tell you, she is in pain! Don't I make myself clear? Sedate her, do whatever is needed, just make it go away!" Cal had an unbelievably difficult time with not actually yelling at the doctor, who was kind of keen on not listening what he was saying.

"How on the earth can you know that? Wait outside, we need to examine her."

Lightman felt like reading him a lecture about who he was and what he did for a living but he caught a look in Gill's eyes, which made his heart skip a beat. He saw the emotion, which he would pay any price for never seeing on Gillian's face. Fear.

"Not going anywhere, darling" Cal whispered nearly in her ear, and then straightened in order to repeat the same aloud.

"No way. Do what you need to do but I'm not going anywhere." he tightened his grip on her hand and sat back on his chair.

Now, the physician was angry, Cal didn't need to be a deception expert to see that but neither did he care about it nor he was forced to. The doctor finally switched his attention to his patient in front of him, obviously making a note, though, to deal with this patient's strange visitor later.

"Dr. Foster, can you hear me?" Gill mouthed 'yes', clearly having a sore throat, and Cal got absolutely pissed off with the idea that this fucking healer was going to ask all the standard questions instead of giving her some good pain-killer right away.

"Dr. Foster, I'm Dr. Strope, your attending physician. You're in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?" She mouthed 'yes' one more time, wincing this time.

"Great. Shirley, please, give Dr. Foster amidopyrinum IV." a small blond nurse nodded shortly, and the man turned back to the bed.

"I guess we have a couple of minutes before you fall asleep again, so we have some time to run several small tests, if you don't mind" doctor rounded the bed and folded a blanket, uncovering her legs. He took out of his pocket a small metal stick with a cogwheel on its other side and gently passed it over her foot. Her biggest toe darted a bit. From Strope's face Cal understood that was good and smiled at Gill as light-heartedly as he could at that particular moment. Her eyes were partly closed but he had no doubt she saw it 'cause she tried to smile in return. Seeing the corners of her lips rising slightly was the greatest pleasure Lightman could get at the time, and for an instance he kind of forgot that they weren't somewhere in their office and alone. However, he was rudely pulled out of his illusions by the doctor's loud voice.

"Can you move your toes on both legs for me, please?" she did it straight away, and, as far as Cal knew, it couldn't be a bad sign either.

"Great. And now can you, please, bend any of your knees just a little bit?" his tone suggested it was the last question to go, so Cal let it be without demanding him leaving them alone.

Gillian nodded slightly and tried. It was only a try, because it wasn't a successful one. She took a shallow breath, her eyes filling with tears as soon as she tore her left knee off the mattress less than one inch high.

Lightman reacted instantaneously, throwing the end of the blanket on its place with one hand and wiping away welled up tears with another.

"Sh, sh, luv, it's over, you don't have to do it... Don't cry, luv, you're gonna fall asleep now, and it's going to be easier once you wake up. It's OK, Gill... it's OK" he watched how she slowly drifted off under the medications, her facial expression becoming less wary and more peaceful.

"She's asleep" again, Cal was really unhappy to acknowledge the presence of that Slope, Stope... whatever guy but he had a feeling that it would be a problem until they have a proper talk but right now the timing for that wasn't pretty good, so...

"How long will she be sleeping?" he did his best not to sound too annoyed.

"About 6 hours" doctor, in return, tried to be polite. They both didn't succeed but neither of them actually cared.

"Great" murmured Lightman and stormed out of the room before Strope was able to say something more – and he wanted to, Cal was positive about it from the look on his face but... He had only something about 5 hours to go now, and so many things in a list... drop in at Gill's place, at his, and he definitely had some shopping to do... 'cause if he wanted to keep his prioritizing working, he needed to get these things done here and now, and he was pretty determined to do so.

* * *

><p>Well, this one is actually a bit shorter. As usual, let me know whether I did really screw up, and I'll be working on it xD<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Author' note: I'm sorry that I was too slow this time, just got a bit distracted with my studies. Nothing new, Lie to me is still not mine, and I'm still very grateful to everyone who read, reviewed and added this Story to Alerts, as well as to my wonderful mistake-searcher lietomebaby.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

4 hours. It took him fucking four hours to get things done. Four hours with his heart pounding, hands slightly shaking and all thoughts racing down to the room where she laid. He was in a terrible hurry but also really determined not to forget about anything 'cause he had already decided that it was the last time he went out of the hospital. For now, at least.

In his own home it was simple. Cal knew what he was looking for and where it was – not to mention his favourite slippers but it was Em's fault, he was pretty sure about it – so it took him less than half an hour to finish in there.

Her house was next, and, hell, wasn't it difficult! He had to consider all her character traits, all information he had about her so far and God knows what else to figure out where some of her belongings could be. Even after an hour and a half he still wasn't sure he took everything what she might need in the nearest future but he had to hurry. The clock was ticking, and the worst part still laid ahead. Lightman was well aware that nowadays it was possible to order the delivery of any goods in the hospital but this was something he had to do himself so another hour ended with him buying some fruit, sweets, chocolates, big bunch of flowers and one small box which ended up in his pocket. Nothing really mattered for him back then, though.

His breath was shallow when he finally entered the lobby, his heart beating faster and faster with each step. He just couldn't help himself but hastening his steps while walking towards the elevator, not noticing anything around him. She was there, and he was going to see her now, reassure himself that she was okay. Of course, it did occur to him that infirmary might be one of the safest places, actually, 'cause in case something went wrong there was a lot of medical staff around, but the lightest possibility of something really going wrong chilled him to the bone.

The elevator, according to Murphy's Law, stopped at each floor, and if it wasn't for several big bags and a huge posy of roses in his hands he would have taken the stairs, run and pushed aside every person on his way only to be able to look at her. He started chewing his lowest lip impatiently, and by the time he went out it nearly hurt already.

Walking into a room and seeing her laying there in exactly the same pose as the one she had when he left was such a relief for him. It was like he could normally breath and, well, exist only when she was in his sight, like there were some invisible ropes which tied his whole body to her and tried to tore him apart each time he went away from her.

Moving really quietly, Cal put all his bags on a coffee table near the window, took an empty vase which was standing there so to the purpose and squeezed through a small door to a bathroom. Returning back and putting flowers in it, he couldn't help but notice how peaceful Gillian looked. He blessed an inventor of the sedatives, looked at the clock – it said he had one more hour - and left the room again to find the one he was looking for standing near the desk only a few meters away.

"Do you have a minute?" Lightman did amazingly good this time, practically not letting any of his negative emotions show up on his face.

"Sure" Dr. Strope put the pen down and turned on his heels to face the deception expert.

"I suppose you wanted to talk with me about something, didn't ya?" Cal nervously shook his shoulders and took one step back.

Doctor nodded, obviously trying to recall when he had revealed his intentions to the man opposite.

"So, how is she?" Cal definitely was desperate to take his place by her bed again, and by this simple questions he wanted to set the topic for their conversation as soon as possible, no letting the doctor give him a lecture on his behaviour first.

"Now, when Dr. Foster has once woken up, everything is much better than before. It's good that the spinal shock, which made her unable to move, has passed. And her MRI results are pretty good, as far as we can see, there is no brain or spinal cord damage." Strope was telling nice things but there was something wrong with it. His concern and lack of certainty were clearly written on his face.

"As far? What can't you see, then?" Lightman reacted momentarily.

"Actually, we can't say anything for sure now because, you know, her spine is severely bruised, and the edema doesn't let us see more. But still, she didn't lose any motor skills or sensibility in the lower part of her body, as our small test has shown."

"But... she couldn't bend her leg, right? It means something is wrong. Or what, you can't tell what's wrong?" he once again was dangerously trying to balance between concerned Lightman and angry one, when he noticed doctor's facial expression changing quickly, expressing both misunderstanding and shock and fear... He didn't get enough time to analyze it though 'cause the next second he was forcefully turned on his heels and slammed at the very nearest wall. He suddenly found himself unable to touch the floor with his legs, with a huge hand on his throat, practically incapable to breathe in.

"What have you done to her, bastard? How did you let this happen to her? How dared you pulling her into your dirty games? Her, whose life costs much more than two of yours?" the pure rage was pulsing through the man's veins, the hate and disgust were shining in his eyes. He meant every word he said, there was no doubt.

* * *

><p>Hoping that you enjoyed it even the slightest bit xD (and hoping to get some reviews as well)<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Well, here's the next one, and 'cause I'm just the slightest bit tired of telling you how irresponsible and lazy I am, I will just state once again that I don't own Lie to Me and that I'm unbelievably grateful for all your feedback, so R&R.

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

"Security!" it was one of the nurses who shouted it when she saw a gun on the man's hip. This scream somehow made him pull himself together, so he let Cal drop on the floor, breathing shallowly, and slowly took out his badge.

"Agent Reynolds, FBI. No need to worry, m'am. Everything is under control." he tried to sound polite, as usual, but his voice was still more like a roar, a roar of a hurt lion.

"You, piece of shit, you have thirty seconds to grab yourself, stand up and find a more or less suitable explanation for why Gillian is currently lying in there." he bent over Lightman, who was sitting on the floor, but neither did he offer him a hand to help him up nor did he show any signs of guilt for attacking him two minutes earlier.

Cal crawled up from the floor, putting himself upfront, his legs still shaking a bit but his face showing no emotion at all. There was only one reason why he was standing still, not shouting, not trying to smash his fist into the agent's face – meaning the only reason which mattered for him at the time, something about attacking an officer simply didn't count. Being accused was all right with him 'cause in his heart he blamed himself for what had happened just enough to beat himself to death.

"I didn't know" after a minute of silence the deception expert finally came up with something that didn't sound like complete rubbish to him.

"Hm... if I had considered even the slightest possibility that you lead her there while knowing that she might be hurt, you would have been long dead by now." there was not a whisper of smile or irony on Ben's face, and it was unpleasant, yea frightening, to see this usually calm and confident man so spleenful and wrathful.

"Now, you tell me everything you know, and then I make up my mind whether I let you exist near her one more second." Reynolds cast a look towards the room where Gill was sleeping and shifted a bit to put himself between the entrance and his company.

"Haven't you talked to Loker and Torres prior to coming here?" from the way the agent frowned Lightman came to a conclusion that he didn't and thus didn't wait for an answer.

"We took a risky case. Received a letter this morning, half-Spanish, from one of those Mexican government organisation. They asked for help with a drug-trafficking case, their suspect had, dunno, jumped the bail and was probably hiding somewhere here, so they wanted us to talk to some of those who might have had a finger in the pie." judging from his tone it was just usual bubbling, nothing uncovered what he really felt reliving those moments once again.

"They never showed up, did they?" uncomprehendinglyinterrupted Ben, staring Lightman right into the eyes. "You've just received some fucking letter God knows from whom, never talked to them, didn't even google them up and just decided it was a good case to take? Are you out of your bloody mind?"

"Guess so." Cal's eyes shot to the floor, indicating shame.

"You guess! That's just rich! You've guessed once, and here is the result!" his fists clenched, he took a deep calming breath and nodded, asking to go on.

"There was an address in the letter. We went there, and though it was written that we should wait for a group of their people to join us..." he reached the most unpleasant moment and subconsciously took one step back. "...Foster said waiting was a bad idea and came in before I could stop her. I followed, and just then there was a big Bang, and the floor started swinging. Think it was a small bomb. Found her lying next to the ladder. It might have collap..." all of sudden, Lightman shut up in the middle of a word. Somewhere down the hall a hospital TV started playing familiar music. He shot his head up to look at the clock hanging above the door. It was time.

"She's gonna wake up now. They sedated her for six hours only. Go talk to Loker and Torres. They'll show you all they've got, and I hope they've found something else by now."

Reynolds didn't move for an inch to give Cal space to enter the room. He just stood there, everything pretty clear on his face. Lightman took a deep breath, slowly realizing that he is the one who has to do all the talking, and better do it fast, somehow polite and without shouting.

"Listen, I need to be there when she wakes up, unless you want her to feel even more terrified than she was when she understood that she laid in a hospital, her back hurt like hell and I might leave her. And I don't care 'bout you thinking that you must talk to her here and now. It can wait 'til she's ready. So get out of my way, it's not so easy to punch me when I see it coming, you know." his upper lip rose faster than he could control the movement, flashing anger through his features.

Ben narrowed his lids, looking closely at his former boss, took one quick step forward and hissed:

"I hope you know for sure that I wouldn't move a finger if it wasn't for her, so be careful and try to make her feel better as soon as possible. I'm always here for her." He made one tiny step with his left leg, and Lightman silently squeezed past him into the room, being quite on time. Barely had he sat on his chair and habitually taken her hand in his, when she moaned slightly and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hi" she smiled weakly at the sight of him examining her intently.

"Yay, Foster, you're back!" he was obviously delighted with her smile, his joy shining through all and sundry of his movement, micro expression and features. They were, however, quickly replaced by concern, when he noticed a tiny wrinkle on her forehead.

"How bad is it? Should I call a doctor?" he leaned forward, his right hand scarcely touching her shoulder.

"It's okay, Cal. I can stand this much. As soon as I would feel really uncomfortable, you would be the first to notice, right?"

She was right. She was undoubtedly right, as usual, though. And her partner was gradually getting pissed off by himself, finding out that she once again was the sensible one.

"Whatever you say, luv. But... maybe I should call a doctor, or bring you something, or..."

"Just stay with me. Please" Gillian interrupted, tracing her fingertips along his palm.

"Won't leave, luv, already told you so."

"You're a despicable liar." she accused, no sign of any negative emotion on her face, though. "So you wanna tell me you haven't left the room and all those bags and bunch of flowers appeared out of nowhere by some magic means? Don't think so. Oh, and thanks for the roses, they're lovely."

"You got me! Had to go out to call the magician. And never mind about the posy, it was a bonus from him for all other orders." he moved forward with his chair and gently caressed her cheek. Her eyes were so close, so beautiful and so full of something he saw there so rarely that he couldn't even identify it at one sweep but he felt a sudden urge to do something... to kiss, maybe, and he was tempted, oh, so tempted – not that this feeling was new to him, speaking about their seven years of beating about the bush – but now he was really approximate to...

"Ahem" a man's voice behind Cal's back ruined all the moment straightaway, so he had no choice except for leaning back and turning to face the all pervasive doctor Strope.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake again, Dr. Foster. I guess it's time for us to talk about your condition... in private, right?" even a first grader would understand what he was getting at. Neither Gillian nor Cal were pupils, so they got it. And didn't like it.


End file.
